Bad Blood
by ChristyLoisGilmore17
Summary: It looks like someone is out for blood. Maybe all she wants is a different kind of revenge. [Set some time in season 2 with a potential rumored character making an appearance. Title & reference within story relating to Taylor Swift's latest single. One-Shot, longer by possible request]


As Matt slipped away from Karen's embrace in bed, he thought about what Foggy had said yesterday. His mind went to the memory… Him and Foggy were sitting in their office and Karen was away getting them lunch.

"If you really care about Karen, you should tell her the truth. I can handle not telling everyone else about your secret, but not her. She deserves to know. You know that. Don't break her heart. We need her and that's more than just being secretary."

"I know, Foggy, but it's not that easy."

"You don't know that Karen will be like Claire."

"I've got a good thing going here, Foggy. I don't want to mess it up."

"It will be a mess if she finds out before you tell her."

The door of their office begins to open, and startles both of them, even Matt who would have normally been on alert to someone's appearance.

"Tell me what exactly?" said Karen walking in with take-out bags.

Foggy looks at Matt hoping that one of them could find an excuse.

"It's nothing, Karen," said Matt, "Don't worry about it."

She looked at him like she didn't quite believe what he said, but decided to let it go for now. They went to eating their lunch.

That's when Matt stopped the memory in its tracks, and turned towards the direction where Karen was. He knew Karen could handle it. She had always favored his alter ego from the beginning, and from the first day Matt met Karen, he knew that she was strong. Yet Foggy brought up a good point, Matt was holding back not just his secret from Karen. He was still bruised from what could have been with Claire. He understood her decision, and her choice in moving on. Matt was just grateful that Claire was still willing to help him, though it was tough at first to move pass their feelings. Now that they both have moved on, it's gotten much easier. They became friends, as well as his nurse in time of need. She even gave him the push to date Karen, along with Foggy's blessing that it wouldn't come between them. He remembered that day, like it had been yesterday.

"Does Karen know you're here being patched up?" said Claire.

"No, only Foggy knows. Why?"

"Well, she wouldn't be jealous that I'm still at your beck & call. I really should try to stop treating you for a while. Maybe you'll learn your lesson."

"You wouldn't do that. Why would she be jealous?"

"You're obviously clueless. I've seen the way you two are together."

"Wait, how do you know? Are you stocking me?"

"Stocking is a strong word. Just keeping tabs to make sure you're not ruining my stitches. Don't let it mean something else."

"Fine. Karen's great, but it wouldn't work out."

"Just because I won't date you, doesn't mean you should be lonely forever. Come on, Matt. I've heard you talk about her. Foggy has mentioned some stuff."

"What has he told you? Are you like best buds now?"

"Hey, he has no one to talk to."

"He has me. His best friend."

"He can't always talk to you. Plus it's nice to have someone else talk to about all this secret nursing business. Don't worry, I'm not taking away your best friend."

"So what, are you two tag teaming so I start dating Karen?"

"It sounds like both of you are just hiding your feelings. Dancing around each other, hoping the other will do something. You can't make her wait too long."

"What do you suggest I do then?"

"Ask her out, and not somewhere lame."

Somehow after that, he had the courage to do just that. Late one evening when they were closing up the office, Foggy had already left.

"Karen?" Matt said walking up to her. He drops his stick on the desk. She turns away from the papers in her hands and looks to him.

"Yes?" she replied while surprised by Matt's sudden close distance. He didn't reply back. Instead Matt lightly touched Karen's hair with his hand, and got closer to her. Karen started to close her eyes to the gesture, which worked towards Matt's next move. Which was to touch her face with his hands then moved them down her body to her waist. He leaned towards her, and pulled Karen closer. That's when Matt brought his lips to hers. She was surprised at first, but then let him in. Karen put her passion that had grown for Matt into responding back to his kiss. Which brought Matt to move Karen to sit on top of the desk. She wanted more, but stopped herself when she realized that she wouldn't mind if he did her right then and there on the desk. Her hand pushed him a bit away, which brought a change to Matt's face.

"Matt, don't take this the wrong way. I do want you, but don't you think we're going a bit fast," said Karen.

"Karen, you know I'm a good Catholic boy," said Matt with his charming smile then it turned serious, "I want to do this right. I don't want to mess this up, what ever we have, but…" He couldn't find the words he wanted to say.

"You want me to be your girlfriend. Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yes," he said nodding, "We can take it as slow as you want. I don't want to lose you." Her hand touched his face.

"You won't lose me. I promise."

"You can't promise that."

"Yes, I can. You promised me that you'll keep me safe, and you have. If you can do that, I can do this."

Matt wanted to tell her then his secret, but choose different words instead. "Will you go out with me?" he said taking her hand. She squeezed his hand back in reassurance.

"Yes, you may," the words that brought a smile to Matt's face. Which then brought one to hers. They walked out of the office, turning off the lights, locked the door, and headed on their way to a nice restaurant that Matt remembered Karen saying was her favorite. Matt slipped out of that pleasant memory, and got closer to Karen asleep in his bed and kissed her on her forehead. Some day soon, he told himself, he would let her know his secret, but tonight wasn't that moment. Matt went to go change, and went out for night patrol. He couldn't stay up too late because his patrols were affecting his sleep and his day job. Not to mention, he needed to be back before Karen woke up.

He went out in the night really conformable with his costume upgrade. When he was on top of a high building, he opened himself up to hear where the city needed him. Tonight it seemed surprisingly quite, besides the normal every night occurrences, just when Matt thought he would have a light load that evening. He heard a man screaming in pain. He decided to go check out what that was about. When Matt arrived in the dark alleyway, the man he heard took his last breath. Second's before, Matt could tell that the man had been attacked with dagger into his chest area. So Matt knew this man's murderer was still near by. With no idea who this dead man was, Matt couldn't tell if he should stop the murderer or not. He didn't have much time to ponder that thought when he was drawn to presence that seemed familiar, and then held his head in pain. It was as if he was being attacked mentally, first with sharp pain and then forced to remember painful memories, and he couldn't figure out how to stop it. Then it actually stopped, but not on his own accord. This presence Matt could sense began coming closer to him. Before he knew it, there was a dagger being thrown at him, but he sensed it quickly enough for it to miss its target.

"What did I do to you?" said Matt.

"I've heard you're not one to mess with, but I don't believe you're quite as innocent as the city now is led to believe," said the female assassin.

"Well, I don't think I'm an angel, sweetheart."

"A fallen angel then. Why should I let you live?"

"Why do you want me to die?"

"I've been told to kill you."

"You shouldn't listen to them. You're your own boss."

"That's true, but you really should answer my question."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'll just kill you."

"But you'll kill me anyways. How about you say that you did, but you let me go?"

"Why would I do that?"

"I don't know, maybe you think I'm charming?"

Matt couldn't see it, but she was wearing a red leather outfit with boots that matched. What he could tell she was still armed without her daggers. She pulled out a small stack of disks from her suit somehow without Matt's notice. Like a good action scene in a TV show, she began throwing the disks at his direction and he swiftly moved to miss each one. Except the last one that scraped his cheek and made a cut.

"Awe, poor baby, you're bleeding."

"I'm glad for your concern. Do you want to kiss it to make it all better?"

She just laughed. That's when he knew this lady wasn't a stranger at all. Without thinking he said, "Elektra?"

"So you've heard of me, _Daredevil,_ " she replied as she walked closer to him.

"Actually I know you," said Matt. He mentally slapped himself. She was out to kill him. He couldn't just give himself away. Why did the words come out, he wondered, like a fountain. "Can't you tell who I am?"

She paused for a second. "No, it can't be." Elektra's hand touched his face, which wasn't the first time, on the cut she made. Matt suddenly was reminded of all the moments he had of her in college, but it felt different than him retrieving the memories, almost like he was being forced to remember.

Of all the memories, there were three memories that were the strongest: the first day they met in Spanish class, the day she kissed him, and the day they broke off what ever they had. "How are you doing that?" he asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but it's useful. Especially against very, very bad men."

"We ended in good terms, right? It was mutual. We both thought it wouldn't work." She held his face, and said, "Clearly you don't remember good enough of what actually happened."

The memory appeared in his mind's eye, like he was watching it all happen. At first it started the way he remembered it, where he says, "Sorry" and she walks out, but just like she said, he didn't remember what happened before that. Just like a rewind of a tape, the memory quickly started from the beginning from Elektra's point of view.

"You're holding something back," Elektra told him.

"That's classic coming from you," he replied back frustrated.

"I understand we don't have to tell each other our life's stories, but that's not what I'm referring to. It's like you're going through the motions now. What's that about?"

"It's nothing. I didn't mean to make it seem that way. I really do care about you. I'm sorry."

"Don't say sorry just for show."

"No, I really mean it. If you really didn't want to be with me, why did you string me along?" She said getting frustrated too.

"I do want to be with you. It's just that I'm not good…"

She cut him off before he could continue, "Don't be a martyr. I don't care about the fact you're blind. I just wanted to be with you. The charming guy that totally took Spanish just to ask me out." He was about to respond that it was more than that, but he let her continue especially when she gave him a look. "He was sweet, caring, nice to chat with and willing to listen. Then we got together, now you've gone cold. Maybe I should have known from the beginning that you were trouble."

"You're taking it out of proportion!"

"Am I? Am I really?" He had nothing to say. She nodded like she expected exactly that. "I thought these problems would work themselves out, but I don't think they can." All he could say was the word she was tired of hearing, "Sorry."

"I let you in, for what, to break my heart? Never again, Matt."

He said the word again, and she walked out. Then the memory disappeared, but he could sense how much Elektra was hurt by it and as quickly as the feeling came it left.

He could still feel her hand on his cheek. "Band-aids don't fix bullet holes. Isn't that what Taylor Swift says? Why shouldn't I kill you, Matt?"

"Even after knowing who I am, you still want to kill me?"

"Haven't you learned anything from that memory, Matt?"

"Yes, that you wouldn't kill me. Even after all that happened."

She forcefully held his neck against the wall. "You don't really know that for sure." He didn't know what else he could do to stop her. He resigned, and she noticed. Which she began to let go slowly. "You're right, even after all this time. I won't, but don't think that will stop me if you end up messing things up."

"No promises, and right back at you… You can't kill whom ever you please."

"Just because it's not your style, doesn't mean, you get to judge me."

"I'm not. I'm just throwing down the terms."

"What? Do you really think I'm going around killing innocent people? I do my own research." Turning away from him.

"I'm sure you research, and so do I," he said as he wiped away the blood from his cheek. "Let's end this on civil terms."

"Just like you, Matt, wanting to be in good terms. Fine."

"You can't ever stay mad at me," he said with a smile.

She couldn't resist smiling back. "Yeah, but payback is a bitch, and I'll let you think about that, as you go off into the night." She grabbed all the disks and the dagger on the ground, then took out the dagger from the man she killed, and placed them back into the waist of her outfit. Then she pulled out a red masquerade type of mask from the back of her belt, and put it on her face. Even though she knew Matt was blind, she had an idea that he could sense more than he's told her. So when she walked into the night, she took her sweet time, letting her brown hair flow in the wind and Matt sink everything in.

Before she was gone, he said, "See you later, Greek girl."

They went their separate ways, and the rest of the time, he was out on patrol it was normal. Or at normal it was for Daredevil with fighting crime in any way he knew how. Like Elektra said, not killing anyone, but certainly scaring and scarring as much as possible in his signature style. He still had a few hours left before dawn, so he decided to head back to his place and get some sleep. Hopefully Karen hadn't woken up and noticed he was gone. When he got there, she was still fast asleep. So he quickly changed, and went to bed. He didn't get much sleep as he hoped it would. Not because his alarm woke him up to get ready for work, or even Karen, but actually the doorbell ringing.

Karen moved in bed, and tried to cover her ears with the pillow she was resting on. "Why doesn't that ringing stop?" she finally said after the doorbell was ringing for almost two minutes.

"Uh, I'll get that. You stay in bed."

"We should be getting up soon anyways." She got up and stretched, as he grabbed his stick and started to walk towards his door.

He opened the door. "What are you doing here?" He knew exactly who it was.

"Later is today, mister," she said. "So is she here?"

"Who?"

"You know exactly whom I'm referring to."

Just as if she was summoned, Karen came behind Matt, and said, "Who are you?"

"Oh," she said with a smile, "Just one of Matt's exes. How's Claire by the way?"

"How do you know, Claire?" he said concerned.

"Don't worry. We're friends."

"That must be interesting, since you two are exes of the same man," said Karen.

"You would think so, but no. I didn't know she was his ex, till yesterday. So are you his new girl?"

He tried to close the door. "Don't be rude, Matt. You should let her in and see what she wants," suggested Karen.

"Not necessary. I just wanted to say a quick hello to Daredevil & his girl this morning," she said with a sneaky smile.

"Daredevil? Matt isn't Daredevil," said Karen.

"Are you sure about that?"

Matt cut the discussion and said, "I'll talk about this later, Karen. You should go," directing to the lady at the door.

"Yes, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to chat _later_."

Karen getting curious, asked her question again, "Who are you?"

"I'm Elektra. I'm sure we'll all see each other real soon." She walks away again, and Matt quickly closes the door. When he turns to Karen, he knows even without being able to see that she wants to know what the hell that was about, and she wants to know the truth. She isn't expecting anything less.


End file.
